Marquessa Castorena,

• ASW

Born and raised in California, Marquessa grew up living and spending time with family in Oceanside, Escondido, and Valley Center. She attended Cal State San Marcos where she achieved her bachelors in Sociology with a minor in Criminology. During her undergrad, she worked on campus as the Program Coordinator for the Gender Equity Center and LGBTQA Pride Center. As she enjoyed working with a diverse community, her passion for advocating for equality and social justice grew.

Marquessa spent some time working as an Assistant Program Manager in a Residential Treatment Program where she found great interest working with foster youth and mental health. After witnessing and experiencing many barriers within her own personal life, but also within the foster care system, she decided to further her education. She later returned to Cal State San Marcos and received her masters in Social Work. During her graduate program she interned at MHS IHOT North working with adults and mental health as a case manager providing services and support. She also interned at North County Lifeline in the Youth Development program where she began to do more one on one therapy and ran the Seeking Safety group with youth.

She is honored to begin her next journey as a part of the Mending Matters team where she can continue to do what she loves supporting and advocating for those in need. She looks forward to working in a school setting and getting the opportunity to provide many skills and techniques to best assist the youth in their own journey of life.

Outside of work, Marquessa enjoys spending time with loved ones, going on hikes, going to concerts, traveling, trying new foods, beach days, and relaxing at home while watching movies.